Abstract
The objective of this study was to use high-energy electron beam (HEEB) treatments to find surrogate microorganisms for enteric viruses and to use the selected surrogates as proof of concept to investigate low-energy electron beam (LEEB) treatments for enteric virus inactivation at industrial scale on frozen blueberries. Six food matrices inoculated with HAV (hepatitis A virus), MNV S99 (murine norovirus), bacteriophages MS2 and Qβ, and Geobacillus stearothermophilus spores were treated with HEEB at 10 MeV using 4, 8 and 16 kGy doses. G. stearothermophilus spores showed the highest inactivation on all matrices except on raisins, with a dose-dependent effect. HAV reached the maximum measurable log10 reduction (> 3.2 log10) when treated at 16 kGy on raisins. MNV showed the highest resistance of all tested microorganisms, independent of the dose, except on frozen blueberries. On frozen blueberries, freeze-dried raspberries, sesame seeds and black peppercorns, HAV showed a mean inactivation level in between those of MS2 and G. stearothermophilus. Based on this, we selected both surrogate organisms as first approximation to estimate HAV inactivation on frozen blueberries during LEEB treatment at 250 keV using 16 kGy. Reductions of 3.1 and 1.3 log10 were measured for G. stearothermophilus spores and MS2, respectively, suggesting that a minimum reduction of 1.4 log10 can be expected for HAV under the same conditions.
Highlights
Hepatitis A virus (HAV) and human norovirus are responsible for food-borne outbreaks linked to fresh produce, ready-to-eat foods and shellfish worldwide (Alegbeleye et al 2018; Bosch et al 2018; Miranda and Schaffner 2019)
The results of the present study represent a proof of concept for validation of HAV and human norovirus (hNoV) inactivation by low-energy electron beam (LEEB), using the industrial Bühler AG Laatu system, the only industrial scale system currently available to the food industry
The high-energy electron beam (HEEB) trials generated new data on the effect electron beam irradiation has on different viruses-food matrix combinations
Summary
Hepatitis A virus (HAV) and human norovirus (hNoV) are responsible for food-borne outbreaks linked to fresh produce, ready-to-eat foods and shellfish worldwide (Alegbeleye et al 2018; Bosch et al 2018; Miranda and Schaffner 2019). Consumer demands for minimally processed foods with fresh-like quality are on the rise and food processes must adapt to the preferences, acceptance and needs of the consumer (Knorr and Watzke 2019). In this context, innovative approaches are needed to minimize the risk of viral food-borne outbreaks while retaining good food quality. Besides X-ray, two major irradiation technologies have been explored, gamma irradiation and high-energy electron beam (HEEB) (Farkas 1998; Moosekian et al 2012; Pillai and Shayanfar 2017; Ravindran and Jaiswal 2019). Food matrix is likely to provide increased survival for viruses during irradiation, but a major hurdle when performing inactivation studies with viruses on food is the low recovery efficiency which is often encountered, leading to a low maximum measurable
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